Adventist World is free online. For that reason, I only review or comment on articles and editorials that I believe to be of special interest. Usually, this disclaimer introduces my review if Adventist World. However, the most important article in this issue, WHY HEALTH? WHY NOT? is only available in the print edition. Consequently, I’ve provided some quotations from the article up front. It’s definitely a MUST READ.

My final comment is reserved for THE GREAT CONTROVERSY: A TIMELESS BOOK TURNS 1OO by Jerry Moon. I’ve included a long quote that describes the sophisticated way in which the Church is attempting to shed the Ellen White plagiarism issue while describing the literary iteration of the modern edition of the Great Controversy.

REVIEWS AND COMMENTS

WHY HEALTH? WHY NOT? By Allan R. Handysides

“Sometimes we are more interested in baptisms than in conversions. The role of health ministries in our institutions is to demonstrate the love, compassion, and person of Jesus—period. That’s a tall order. When our health outreach is solely for the benefit of the recipient, we become like Jesus, who ministered because He loved. In our lifestyle ministry our concern must focus on the bell-being of those to whom we minister…When coercion and pressure are removed from our ministry, we become more Christlike, channels for the Holy Spirit…

“It’s too early to draw firm conclusions from the current Adventist Health Study, but evidence to date suggests that while the total plant-based diets may be more cardio-protective, while the lacto-ovo diets may provide more protection against cancer…

“Today’s health ministry faces many dangers. While acknowledging the fact that health is, and will always be, a gift fro God, emotionally we like to think we can do it ourselves. Because of this emotional mentality, we often feel guilty if we fall ill or, worse, suspect others of less-than ideal health reform should they fall ill…

“The original purpose of our Adventist health emphasis was to enable us to be better workers for God. With an overemphasis on health, we may become introverted and concerned only about our own selfish aspirations...”

Other articles that inform and inspire:

FABULOUS FIBER by Allan R. Handysides and Peter N. Landless, WHY I BELIEVE IN A LIFE TO COME by William G. Johnsson, and THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT by Stephen Chavez.

Articles of questionable value:

In DAY OF DELIGHT, Ted N. C. Wilson criticizes Adventists who “go out to eat at a restaurant” on Sabbath because it will “cause extra work for others”.

“While my relationship with the Lord is very personal and between my Lord and me, the implications of that relationship will be felt by everyone I deal with. For example, instead of rationalizing the commandment and saying, “Well, Sabbath is a day of rest, so I should refrain from work, and go out to eat at a restaurant,” I will try as far as I can not to cause extra work for others and help them see the beauty of the Sabbath. Those who come in contact with me should also come to know something of the promised joy and delight of the Sabbath: it is not only a day meant to rejuvenate believers.”

Are church potlucks to be avoided? Wilson also fails to take into account the obvious reasons why we NAD Adventists can observe the Sabbath as a “day of rest”. We are surrounded by public service workers who are employed 24/7 to keep us safe, and armed forces that never take the Sabbath off. Adventists in other countries may not enjoy this security.

CHRISTIANS AREN'T PERFECT: CHRIST’S MINISTRY IN THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY by Félix H. Cortez includes the following questionable theology.

“Not all human beings can approach God with confidence, though. This is very important. Only the followers of Jesus benefit from the guarantees that the rule of Jesus provides. This helps us understand an important aspect of Christian life. What determines our eligibility to the benefits of the new covenant is not our ability to defeat the devil (Jesus already did that) but our loyalty to Jesus. The crucial issue is not how strong I am, but how much do I love Jesus.”

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY: A TIMELESS BOOK TURNS 1OO

by Jerry Moon

Later Editions

“During the next 20 years Ellen White wrote five more books on biblical history, but not until 1884 did she find time to expand her coverage of the postbiblical history to 492 pages—four times the comparable section in the original volume. Shortly after the release of the 1884 edition she spent two years in Europe (1885-1887). As she visited the historical sites of the Reformation, she resolved to write on it again, to make it more appealing to a general reading audience, and to show more clearly the continuity between the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation and the Adventist movement. She wrote some 190 pages of new material for the 1888 edition, bringing The Great Controversy to its final size of 678 pages. When the publishers reported in 1910 that the printing plates from the 1888 version were so badly worn that the type needed to be reset, she decided to review the book and improve it once again.4

Use of Historical Sources

“A significant issue for the 1911 edition was changing literary standards. In nineteenth-century America it was common for both secular and religious writers to freely reproduce material from other authors, with or without source references.5 To meet the rising expectations of the twentieth century, however, Ellen White mandated her literary assistants to track down and identify the sources of all the quotations in the 1888 edition of The Great Controversy. In doing so, her helpers found that some quotations were easily available for verification; others were not. She directed them to replace historical quotations from books no longer in print with similar statements from better and readily available sources, so that readers who wanted to check her claims could do so in public libraries.6

“Ellen White was delighted with the new edition and unequivocally endorsed it.7 However, such editorial work on a book that Seventh-day Adventists regarded as inspired raised questions about the relationship between her visions and her use of historical sources. In a statement that his mother specifically approved, her son W. C. White explained: “The things which she has written out are descriptions of flashlight pictures and other representations given her [in vision].… In … writing out … these views, she has made use of good and clear historical statements to help make plain to the reader the things which she is endeavoring to present. When I was a mere boy, I heard her read D’Aubigné’s History of the Reformation to my father.… She has read other histories of the Reformation. This has helped her to locate and describe many of the events and the movements presented to her in vision.”8

“An experience from the Whites’ years in Europe illustrated this point. W. C. White recalled that one Sabbath, at Basel, “as I read [Wylie’s History of Protestantism] to Mother she interrupted me and told a lot of things in the pages ahead, and told me many things not in the book at all. She said, ‘I never read about it, but that scene has been presented to me over and over again.’”9

“Surprised, he asked her, “Why did you not put it into your book [The Great Controversy]?” She replied, “I did not know where to put it.” From this he understood that while the controlling content of her historical writing was derived from visions, she used historical works to identify the geographical and chronological connections of the events she had seen in vision.10

Special Spanish Edition

“During the translation of The Great Controversy into Spanish, someone noticed that it made no mention of the Reformation in Spain. When this omission was brought to the attention of Ellen White, she directed her staff to compile an additional chapter for the Spanish edition. As a result, the Spanish Great Controversy has one more chapter than the one in English. Chapter 13, “The Awakening in Spain,” carries a footnote: “This chapter was compiled by C. C. Crisler and H. H. Hall, and was inserted in this book with the approval of the author.”11

This attempted explanation for her plagiarism, i.e., closely paraphrasing the words of other writers, is that “in nineteenth-century America it was common for both secular and religious writers to freely reproduce material from other authors, with or without source references”. (5) This footnote is from a questionable source. Plagiarism has been condemned by all responsible writers and artists from the mid 1600s. (See: A Very Brief History of Plagiarism)

Also note that the almost invisible footnote type font, magazine and online, makes it easy to miss that every citation is from an “authorized source”. I’ve made it a bit easier to read.

Due to a variety of factors, time and old age being two of them, my future reviews will be limited to comments and reflections. I am counting on the Internet address provided to supply a brief summary of the content of each Review editorial, news release, and article. Once again, I suggest that Adventist members subscribe to the Review. “You snooze, and you loose” the opportunity to contribute to and influence a fellowship of eternal importance.

WORLD NEWS AND PERSPECTIVES

Twenty-year-old Yoselin Perez Ramirez, as student a Montemorelos University was murdered in a failed kidnap attempt. There is now an Adventist church in Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. Loma Linda Medical School graduated its 10,000th student. And there was a Media Summit sponsored by NAD in Ontario, California.

GENERAL COMMENTS

There were three contributors in this issue that rang my chimes: Kimberley Luste Maran’s editorial, LIVE UP TO THE BILLING confronted the dangers of congregational hypocrisy (chime), SLEEP APNEA REVISITED by Drs. Handysides and Landless educated readers on sleep apnea and breast cancer (2 chimes), and LIFE INTERRUPTED a Peter Landless autobiography, was a fascinating revelation (4 chimes)!

There were two contributors whose efforts were clunkers. Someone known only as Ceasar wrote the lead editorial, BABEL BUILDING, without help from a competent editor (clunk). However, the most disappointing article was by Michael W. Campbell. His ADVENTIST THEOLOGY COMES OF AGE was a brief, superficial piece that lacked any intelligent discussion of the issues confronting the delegates at the 1952 Bible Conference. The most important Adventist theological conference in the 20th Century deserved better (4 clunks)!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Larry, you ask a relevant question: "Has anyone attempted to determine why a significant number of top church administrators have left their positions to seek employment in healthcare?"

A number of my former pastoral colleagues who migrated to SDA health care fields, while not "top administrators," would likely join me in an answer something like this: "I am no longer comfortable with the expectation that I should preach sermons about the 2300 days, give Bible studies that prove we are the remnant, or whip up last-day alarms each time there is an earthquake. But the SDA system has created a world-wide network of healthcare that seeks to meet people's real needs through skilled and compassionate caring. I can still preserve my SDA identity within a career that preserves my integrity."

Larry, how many of our Seminary colleagues would fit somewhat within this frame?

This is a “how to” issue. Ellie Gil provides 12 steps that promote LIVING LIFE to the fullest. Ekkehardt Mueller suggests 7 strategies to deal with CONFLICT AND COMMUNICATION.

Additionally, we learn the President Wilson was the featured speaker at the Division Ministerial Council in Brazil (That guy avoids Silver Spring like the plague.), and Cliff Goldstein explains THE CLOSENESS OF THE SECOND COMING by reminding readers that death separates us from Heaven by just the blink of an eye. (Stop the presses!)

The SOUND BITE that made my day was submitted by Eric Shadle, pastor of the Richland SDA church in Washington State. I DO MOST OF MY SINNING WHEN I’M RIGHT.

NOTE TO READERS

Due to a variety of factors, time and old age being two of them, my future reviews will be limited to comments and reflections. I am counting on the Internet address provided to supply a brief summary of the content of each Review editorial, news release, and article. Once again, I suggest that Adventist members subscribe to the Review. “You snooze, and you lose” the opportunity to contribute to and influence a fellowship of eternal importance.

Adventist World is free online. For that reason, I only review or comment on articles and editorials that I believe to be of special interest.

GENERAL COMMENTS

If the woman on this cover is an example of an “empowered woman”, the Adventist Church has a long way to go before even considering the ordination of women! That said, the women authors included in this issue are discerning writers and practical thinkers.

It’s the ordained men whose contributions reflect questionable suppositions: Ron Clouzet suggests that earthquake frequency is a sign of the impending Second Coming, Angel Rodriguez attempts to prove that the Holy Spirit lurks in Heaven in some invisible state, and Mark Finley’s asserts that the genuine and fullest manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit are poured out exclusively on Adventist believers.

This Blog

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”C. S. Lewis

Let’s treasure our 28 doctrines. In their clumsy way they have prepared us to love, heal, and educate worldwide. This Gospel that Jesus lived and died to make real is the solid foundation upon which Christian Adventists can light up the world and glorify the Great God of the Universe. Let’s treasure the 28 as traditional beliefs, not distracting, petty, legalistic, and dogmatic assertions.